This invention relates to a tilting mechanism for a marine propulsions and more particularly to an improved tilt lock mechanism for an outboard drive.
Outboard drives, be they outboard motors or the outboard drive section of an inboard/outboard drive generally employ an arrangement for supporting the outboard drive for pivotal movement about a horizontally extending tilt axis. This pvotal movement is provided for two puposes. First, the pivotal movement is employed to adjust the trim position of the outboard drive to suit varied running conditions. In addition, the outboard drive is adapted to be tilted up to an out of the water position for servicing, storage, trailering or the like. It is the conventional practice to employ some form of mechanical locking arrangement to hold the outboard drive in its tilted up position. One such mechanism employs a lever that is pivotally supported on a clamping bracket of the outboard drive and which defines a specially configured slot. A pin is fixed to the outboard drive and rides in this slot during pivotal movement of the outboard drive relative to the clamping bracket. A special configuration at the end of the slot is employed for locking the outboard drive in its tilted up position. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,329, entitled "Combined Reverse Lock And Swivel Bracket Holding Mechanism", issued Jan. 15, 1974 in the name of William J. Shimanckas.
The outboard drive is also permitted to swing about the pivotal axis to pop up under certain running conditions so as to protect the outboard drive from damage. For example, if an underwater obstacle is struck, the outboard drive is permitted to pop up under this condition and then returns to its previous trim position once the underwater obstacle is cleared. In addition, even handling in rough seas may, at times, cause the outboard drive to effect such pivotal movement. With the pin and slot type of arrangements previously employed, however, the repeated pivotal movement tends to wear the slot, particularly in the area where it makes its transition to the locking area and this wear can cause the tilt locking mechanism to be unstable or ineffective.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved tilt locking mechanism for an outboard drive.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tilt locking mechanism for an outboard drive that is simple in operation, is highly effective and which is not prone to wear.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tilt locking mechanism for an outboard drive that will retain its utility for a long period of time and through repeated usage.